Chester County man returned to prison for trip to Newtown, Conn., after shooting

By MICHAEL N. PRICE

Friday, February 8, 2013

WEST CHESTER -- Jonathan Lee Riches, a 36-year-old West Goshen man who violated his probation during a December trip to Newtown, Conn., was sent back to state prison Thursday.

Riches appeared before Chester County Common Pleas Judge Jacqueline C. Cody for a probation violation hearing following a trip to Newtown just days after the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Detectives from the West Goshen Police Department notified Riches' probation officer of the violation after Riches posted a video of his trip on YouTube.

In the video, which was partially shown in court Thursday, Riches is seen attempting to reach the home of Sandy Hook gunman Adam Lanza, but is prevented by a police blockade. The video also shows Riches speaking to dolls with the faces of Adam Lanza, and his brother Ryan, attached. Early in the video Riches refers to the dolls as his friends, Ryan and Adam Lanza.

"We are truth seekers, and we are going to find out why Adam was mind-controlled and manipulated to go in and allegedly shoot little kids in Sandy Hook Elementary School, and why this happened," Riches said.

At that point in the video, Cody ordered a halt to the display, visibly disturbed by its content.

"We don't need to watch what he created," Cody said. "I don't need to see anymore."

During his trip, Riches also showed up at a Newtown memorial claiming to be "Jonathan Lanza," an uncle of gunman Adam Lanza. Several media outlets, including the New York Daily News, published Riches' claims that Lanza was taking a anti-psychotic drug prescribed to treat schizophrenia. Several photographs showing Riches knelt in prayer in front of a memorial were also published by various media outlets.

Riches has also published videos of himself attempting to make calls to Adam Lanza's brother Ryan, which Assistant District Attorney Andrea Cardamone argued was another violation of his probation for disseminating personal information on the Internet.

Multiple officials familiar with Riches case have said his erratic online behavior appeared to focus around the movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colo. on July 20. That shooting left 12 people dead and 58 injured when a gunman attacked a theater during the premier of "The Dark Knight Rises." Riches' YouTube channel features many videos discussing the shooting, and proclaiming the innocence of alleged shooter James Holmes. Riches' videos frequently show him speaking to photographs of Holmes, who he refers to as his friend.

Cardamone said Thursday that both the West Goshen Police Department and Chester County Detectives have received multiple calls and complaints in recent months reporting "bizarre and alarming behavior" from Riches.

"What is alarming to the community is a lot of these postings on YouTube seem to celebrate or express an opinion for a kinship with some of the recent mass murderers in our country," Cardamone said. "More recently, the violations that we are dealing with here involve a clear obsession and fascination with Adam Lanza and the mass murder that occurred in Sandy Hook."

Riches' attorney, Robert J. Donatoni of West Chester, argued that Riches' videos were a product of an untreated mental illness, and asked Judge Cody to consider a sentence that would allow him to return to a federal facility where he could receive treatment.

"He is mentally ill. I don't say that as an excuse, I say that as a matter of fact," Donatoni said, arguing Riches would receive better treatment at a federal facility. "There is very little that can be done on a county level."

Riches addressed the court and acknowledged his illness, explaining that he is prescribed several medications and that he was not taking them during his trip to Connecticut.

"I have been diagnosed with a mental illness for many years. It's something I struggle with and that I'm working on," Riches told Judge Cody. "I need treatment. I have mental issues, I need help."

Judge Cody listened to Riches' explanation, but in the end was not convinced that his illness was reason enough to excuse his actions.

"You seem like a nice person, but you've done a terrible thing that has affected a lot of people," Cody said before revoking Riches' probation and sentencing him to 2½ to 5 years in state prison.

Afterward, Donatoni explained that he was disappointed in the decision and felt that Riches would be better served if he was sent to a federal prison with mental health facilities. "It is not what I was hoping and arguing for, it was obviously significantly more than what the commonwealth asked for. Hopefully there will be some mechanism in the state system that treats the mental illness, because at some point in time he is going to get out again," Donatoni said. "I believe he would be better served in a prison setting that has psychological and psychiatric treatment abilities that are much better in the federal system."

Riches was on probation for a 1997 conviction of wire fraud and identity theft. He has violated his probation at least four times since, according to court testimony Thursday.

Riches' trip also violated his supervised release that followed a 10-year stretch in federal prison for credit card fraud in a separate case. Officials said the federal government has been waiting to see the outcome of the local hearing to address the violation of his supervised release, and a federal hearing is now pending.

Riches has previously gained national notoriety for his reputation as the federal prison system's most litigious inmate. He has filed thousands of phony lawsuits that often named celebrities and other public figures as defendants.

In 2009 the Associated Press reported that Riches was suing the Guinness Book of World Records for attempting to name him as the world's "most litigious" person. Guinness denied naming Riches as a record holder and the case was later dismissed.